The role of an intranet manager is very new, and most intranet managers only started on this career path in the last five to ten years. Intranet managers come from all walks of life and have very different skills.

Because of this, the role of intranet manager is not well defined. The key skills needed by intranet managers fall into a few broad categories:

• technical skills
• business acumen
• leadership

In reality, very few intranet managers are competent in all these areas. However there are many opportunities for intranet managers to learn and grow. From our experience, the common attributes of successful intranet managers are:

1. ability to create and foster personal networks
2. ability to deliver
3. a thick skin
4. ability to achieve customer-focused outcomes
5. consistently striving to improve
6. knowing how to let go of content
7. being pragmatic in decision making
8. displaying self-confidence
9. harnessing the power of the organisation
10. having an effective sponsor

In this article we define these attributes and outline two methods for intranet managers to improve these crucial skills.

Success is not guaranteed by hard work alone

1. Ability to create and foster personal networks

No intranet manager can work in isolation. Successful intranet managers have personal networks that extend to all areas of the organisation, including:

• the immediate team
• direct managers
• communications
• information technology
• business areas
• executive team
• sponsors
• stakeholders

Personal networks provide the intranet manager with valuable insights into the culture and operations of an organisation. This allows the intranet manager to identify areas where the intranet can best help the organisation achieve its aims.

Internal appointments to intranet manager roles are often successful as internal candidates generally have an understanding of how the organisation works and have an established personal network.

For managers new to an organisation, a huge effort needs to be made in the first six months to build relationships at all levels of the organisation. In a day-to-day role the intranet manager will come across many people in different departments but it is often very hard to get out into business areas. One way to meet other people within the organisation through social activities. Joining the basketball team, attending social events and going to the canteen may be just as effective as scheduling meetings.

Some people have a natural talent for networking and build relationships easily. For others this may be very difficult, even scary. In this situation an option to consider is developing a few key relationships with people who already know what is going on in the organisation. They can then be the conduit to organisational intelligence. Over time this will build an effective personal network.

2. Ability to deliver

The ability to deliver is key to any successful role, but it is even more crucial for intranet managers. Intranet managers have to deal with the legacy of past intranet initiatives that have failed to meet expectations.

When delivering functionality the successful intranet manager has two key guiding principles:

• recognise and deliver to current organisation needs
• deliver small increments regularly, in line with the overall purpose of the intranet

Successful intranet managers priorities what the organisation needs, rather than placating whoever is screaming the loudest, by using effective questioning techniques and having a good understanding of what is happening in the organisation.

Intranet managers who demonstrate a good ability to deliver do not just focus on managing milestones and time lines. The path to success begins a long time before the project is started, when it is decided what needs to be delivered and in what order. Often then the responsibility for delivery can be delegated to other team members or a project manager.

Attacks on the intranet are not attacks on you personally

3. A thick skin

Some of us are naturally less affected by the slings and arrows of life in large organisations than others.
However, intranet managers may feel like they are on the receiving end of more complaints than the average manager. Intranet managers are providing a service for the whole organisation and dealing with staff at all levels within the organisation. This opens up many opportunities to develop a thick skin.

The intranet managers ability to understand that these attacks are not personal but relate to what the complainers are trying to achieve in their own roles is crucial to success.

Successful intranet manager develop techniques, for example to:

• build a common understanding with others, by having an elevator pitch down pat for the purpose of the intranet
• be clear about current initiatives, for example having visual work plans on display near their desks showing what is being delivered and how this helps the organisation achieve its overall aims
• focus on what needs to be achieved, such as a new section for international travel

In large teams it is often wise to have a person whose natural style allows them to deal with the sticky situations. Some people are naturally better listeners and can diffuse difficult interactions.

Intranets are owned by everyone in the organisation

4. Ability to achieve customer-focused outcomes

Day after day intranet managers are bombarded by requests from all areas of the business to fix issues, implement new areas or do something downright crazy.

Successful intranet managers have established channels for staff to get in contact with them and preset expectations on delivery times. In larger organisations response times are often agreed in policies. The trick for successful intranet mangers, is to negotiate this with different departments.
For example, responses for the Communications team may need to be a lot quicker than for other teams.

They will also work to achieve outcomes for both parties. They will not become known as ‘blockers’ who say no to everything. Where there is a problem, for example, if a department wants a new section for their policies, but there is already an existing section, successful intranet managers will work to build an understanding and work out an acceptable solution.

5. Consistently striving to improve

Intranets are never finished. Successful intranet managers are consistently striving to improve the intranet by having:

• an up-to-date and relevant purpose for the intranet
• an ongoing portfolio of achievable projects
• regular planning sessions to check how the intranet is tracking

Successful intranet managers understand that the time spent on day to day operations, relationship management and new projects needs to be balanced.

See the previous article How intranet teams should spend their time for more on this.

Some intranet managers undertake a full scale redesign with the expectation that all will be fixed after the project, but this is unrealistic. Consistent small steps lead to far greater rewards in the long term.

Striving also needs regular rewards, and successful intranet managers know to celebrate often with their teams.

Timely support for authors and publishers is crucial

6. Knowing how to let go of content

Successful intranet managers will be striving for clear, well written and effective content by educating and supporting publishers through:

• organising buddies for new publishers
• effective and timely training
• over the phone or face-to-face support
• running regular community of practice events
• ensuring governance models for home page(s), landing pages and content exist and are understood

Many intranet managers can border on being ‘control freaks’. This is most often seen in communication teams where an outstanding personal commitment to quality can create unrealistic expectations in others. For example, if publishing is done by staff from all areas of the organisation, all content will not be ‘perfect’.

Successful intranet managers also do not expect all content pages to be updated or owned.

Overall, successful intranet managers understand that any intranet is a journey. Incremental improvements are the key to success.

7. Being pragmatic in decision making

The possibilities of what intranet managers can do are endless. What separates out successful intranet managers is that they have a keen understanding of what they want to achieve with the intranet. This forms the basis for pragmatic decision making on priorities.

The key with many intranet managers is what they will not do, for example, publish content for new sites. In a decentralised publishing environment if a new site and all the content is published by the intranet team it is very unlikely that future changes will be done by the owner. A successful intranet manager will aim to empower all areas of the organisation.

Successful intranet managers cannot do it alone

Successful intranet managers will have their own techniques for deciding on what is worth doing and what is achievable based on the consequences for the intranet, resources and available time.

One technique is the 6×2 methodology that focuses on establishing criteria and constraints then two 6 monthly plans.

See the previous article 6×2: a new approach to planning for more on this.

Sometimes a decision is made that does not take into account the practical consequences and real effects for the intranet. If you need to go a little bit off target to satisfy someone, sometimes this is the pragmatic decision in the bigger picture of organisational life. However, successful intranet managers understand when they are going off track and they make sure that these are the rare exceptions.

Successful intranet managers do not operate from crisis to crisis, based on who is yelling the loudest this week. They choose what to do and when.

8. Displaying self-confidence

This is not about false bravado, but if you walk into a meeting with your shoulders slumped and mumble your way through explanations you are not likely to end up a successful intranet manager.

Successful intranet managers are confident in their ability to deliver an effective intranet. Self confidence is increased if the intranet manager is knowledgeable and can articulate many options. Successful intranet managers maintain their desire to learn and keep up to date. When you are confident in your abilities and knowledge you display self confidence.

Empower others for long lasting success

Most people have little idea of how they appear to others. Building self-awareness can be a very valuable and scary undertaking. Consider getting feedback from trusted peers or video your team meeting and then observe your behaviours.

9. Harnessing the power of the organisation

Successful intranet managers cannot do it alone; they need to empower others for the intranet to work. They are like conductors of an orchestra.
The intranet is owned by the staff of the organisation. The intranet manager is responsible for making sure it is effective.

Intranet managers need to empower different groups:

• the sponsor
• publisher and author communities
• executives
• general staff
• site owners

Each of these requires a different approach and in all cases a lot of face-to-face discussions.

Key groups to focus on are the publisher and author communities as they are responsible for most of the content on intranets. It is essential to empower these communities with tools and guidance. The better they do their jobs the better the intranet will be. One method is to hold regular forum meetings or if the community is dispersed in many locations, a blog with the latest news and techniques might be a useful way to stay in touch.

10. Having an effective sponsor

An effective sponsor does not try to do the intranet manager’s job, but provides support in relation to:

• budget
• resources
• business issues
• connecting the intranet manager to other areas of the organisation

An effective sponsor doesn’t magically appear on the horizon. Successful intranet managers need to identify and nurture potential sponsors. The best ones are often on their way up in the organisation and move through to new roles. Old sponsors can be wonderful ongoing advocates for the intranet.

Sponsors do not need to be in the intranet managers direct line of management, although it is helpful if they are, especially for the intranet managers career.

Sponsors can make the role a lot easier

In reality, as intranets are a relatively new discipline in business, sponsors will need some guidance in intranet best practice, sometimes right back to the basics such as why the home page cannot be in their favourite colour.

Successful intranet managers and sponsors have relationships built on mutual understanding requires, respect and trust with a joint aim to provide the most effective intranet for staff.

Technical skills

Most intranet managers have specific technical skills not found elsewhere in the organisation — they can:

• tune a search engine
• source, create and write content
• establish intranet governance models
• project manage improvements

These skills are very important and are probably why the intranet manager was appointed in the first place. However these skills alone will not propel an intranet manager into the realms of success. Focusing on the common attributes is the key.

Hiring intranet mangers

Often intranet teams are small and one person needs to cover many bases. Most job descriptions for intranet managers are unrealistic and contain far too many areas of focus. However expecting someone to be an expert in coding and usability and have the skills to front the executive with a well executed three-year strategic plan is asking for failure.

Some questions to consider when appointing an intranet manager are:

• is your intranet at the start of the journey and in need of an evangelist?
• does someone need to build trust and undo the failures of the past?
• do you need someone who will plough though content updates?
• are you looking for a trainer to empower the publishing and authoring community?
• can you find a leader to run the team and deliver strategic value?

The way forward

Gaining these essential skills is like any other skill. They require awareness and practice. Two key methods for improving these types of skills are mentoring and leadership training.

Find a mentor

Mentors are invaluable for insight and guidance. A good mentor can help you to gain a clearer perspective on your strengths and weaknesses and offer you alternative ways of looking at situations. Mentors are often removed from your direct day-to-day work and therefore have a more impartial perspective. They will give you quite different advice from that you may receive from your direct manager.

A mentor generally has more experience than you, however this is not essential. They can come from within or outside your organisation. The important factor is how comfortable you feel with the person. A mentor relationship can be quite special as there is a lot of trust.

Richard Branson often cites his mentor Freddie Laker as a key part of his success.

Finding a mentor is a matter of understanding what skills you would like to develop and identifying someone suitable. Finally a mentor is not for life, and a current mentor may not be suitable in a few years time.

Attend leadership training

Many organisations offer excellent internal training on:

• effective leadership
• understanding people and behaviours
• working with teams
• dealing with conflict issues

Work with your manager to discuss the areas you would like to develop and take opportunities to attend as many of these as you can.

There are also excellent external leadership training programs available.

Conclusion

The career of a successful intranet manager is a journey. Successful intranet managers put time and energy into understanding their effectiveness both personally and professionally and develop these skills over a period of time.

Use the self-assessment to identify areas of improvement, and be prepared to actively improve over a period of time.